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Real life

There are times when I read something and am astonished by how much it echoes my own thoughts. Sometimes they're not even full-fledged thoughts yet, but someone else's words bring them to life. It never ceases to amaze me that there are people out there thinking the same crazy things I am, or having the same feelings that I am. It makes me happy.

I considered just posting the link to it here, but the more I chewed the post over in my mind, the more I wanted to write about it here. So thanks, Jolie, for getting my writing juices flowing.

Before this semester started I was worried about not having any free time. Half the week would be filled with classes and homework and the other half would be filled with work. I was excited about the work part and less about the class part. But not long after, I was working 9-5, waking up tired, driving to work, sitting in an office all day, coming home exhausted, not wanting to cook dinner, and only have a few hours to spend with my husband before going back to it all again. I couldn't believe that people did this all day long, every single day of their lives. I looked forward to class days because at least then I had a break between every class. How do people do it? Every single day. Every single week. Morning to night. Don't they miss their spouses? Their homes? It was hard for me to comprehend that people spend more of their lives in an office building than in their actual homes. There's weekends, of course. But there's a long work week to get through before they roll around. How did people do it? And how have people been doing it for years on end, before I was ever born, and no one ever said anything about it to me!

It has been hard to give up the free time that I was used to having. But I'm learning that it's all about discovering and adjusting - life, that is. Each stage is different and each one starts off with that panicked THIS IS REAL LIFE?! thought. But then we adjust. We learn to value the little moments. We learn that only having three hours in the evening to spend with your spouse is nothing to sneeze at. Those three hours can be the very best part of your week. We learn that spending all day in the office doesn't have to be torture. We find value and joy in our jobs. We change our mindset and our attitude and move on. Because no matter how many times we think this life isn't how we imagined it, it's the only one we've got. And sometimes in those little moments, life will surprise you and be even better than what you imagined.